"You can't do this! Not when I'm so close! I have to find her; I have to find my Alice!"
"Oh my god will you shut up already?"
"No! I was so close to perfecting the formula, if you only would let me return to my work, to perfect the compound-"
"Jesus Christ, Metro do you have a gag?"
"I can shove my sock in his mouth, but I'm pretty sure that constitutes excessive force."
"Ugh," Montoya groaned, as she shoved Jarvis Tetch into the waiting arms of a pair of patrol officers, "Officers, he's all yours. Have fun with him,"
Percy just snorted as the officers shoved the drug-dealing psychopath into the back of the waiting cruiser. Jarvis Tetch, also known as the Mad Hatter, had been tossed their way after video surveillance of him surfaced kidnapping a ten-year old girl. The lunatic had been kidnapping girls and experimenting on them, trying to find his own, "Alice." After nearly two weeks of hard investigation, Percy and Montoya had finally tracked the bastard down.
Percy watched as the three girls were loaded into waiting ambulances and hustled off for treatment.
"We should probably get going," Montoya sighed, "We need to get a head start on the paperwork on all of this,"
"Or," Percy said, "We go to the bar, get blindingly drunk, and try and wash the last two weeks of utter hell from our collective memories."
"I vote option two," Montoya agreed.
"I thought you might," Laughed Percy,
"Hell, why don't you give Dinah a call. Maybe if I get you drunk enough, you'll stop pussy-footing around her and actually ask her out." Montoya smirked victoriously at him. Percy just glared at his partner.
A few weeks ago, Percy had asked Dinah if she wanted to meet him for drinks with Montoya, she had said yes, and much to his chagrin, had hit it off with Montoya. The pair had taken to teaming up on Percy whenever they got the occasion. Glaring at his partner, Percy just flipped her the bird, and called Dinah. She said she had a few errands to run, but that she'd love to meet up with them after.
Percy normally wasn't a fan of going to the bar at the end of a workweek. Large crowds in tight spaces made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the demigod in him, but you never knew when someone was going to turn into a vicious monster and start slaughtering your friends. But at the moment, Percy couldn't bring himself to care.
When Percy had first moved to Gotham, he had been excited by the prospect of finally working a proper case load. Making a difference and actually feeling like he was doing something for the good of the people. Percy had been in the city for a few months at this point, and he was starting to feel as though he were running on fumes. At any given time, Percy was running at least four different active cases.
He was beginning to feel the strain of it all. He wasn't a stranger to death by any means, but gods above Gotham seemed to be riddled with it. Percy was almost convinced that he had seen more death in Gotham in the last few months than he had in his entire time in the Legion.
Picking up his drink, Percy took a deep pull and turned his attention back to the television. The news anchor was describing how that loud mouth Percy had met with the Junior Justice League had helped save the life of the very young Queen Perdita of Vlatava.
"That reminds me," Percy said, pointing at the screen, and lowering his voice, "Any sign of the clown?"
It had been two weeks since the violent breakout of the Joker from Arkham, and the entire city still seemed to be teetering on edge. It was unlike anything Percy had ever seen before. Gothamites were cagey and paranoid by nature, but the recent few weeks was something else entirely.
Montoya checked around her then shook her head, "Nothing. According to Gordon, not even the Bat has seen the bastard. I don't like it."
"Think he's planning something?" Percy asked,
"That bastard is always planning something," Montoya snarled, "And if he's taking his time with it, that just means the body count is going to be higher."
Percy didn't have anything to say to that, so he just turned to back to his drink. Only to be interrupted as both he and Montoya's phones chose that moment to ring. Pulling it out, Percy groaned as he recognized the number of central dispatch.
"Always at end of watch before the weekend," Montoya grumbled before she answered and Percy did the same.
"Jackson," He answered, and a female voice answered,
"Detective Jackson, you are being dispatched to 121 North LaSalle Street."
"City Hall?" Percy asked in confusion, "What's happening?"
"The Joker has kidnapped the Mayor."
Percy's eyes went wide, and judging by the look on Montoya's face, she had just been told the same thing.
"We're on our way," Percy said, and hung up, only for him to immediately receive another call, this time from his station lieutenant. Sharing a look with Montoya who was about to dash out of the bar, Percy answered,
"Already got the call L.T., Montoya and I are-"
"You're not going to City Hall." Lieutenant Winston snapped,
"What?" Percy asked, incredulous, "Sir what could be more important than-"
"An inmate due for extradition to Alabama for Death Row, Gar al S'hul, is willing to confess to a string of unsolved homicides back in the '90's, but he said he'll only talk to you. He leaves first thing tomorrow, so you need to get down to the Asylum and interview him. Now!" There was a click and the line went dead. Percy just stared at the phone, unable to comprehend what just happened.
"Metro," Montoya said, snapping her fingers in front of his face, "Hey, Earth to Metro, we need to get moving,"
"I'm not going." Percy said slowly, "That was the lieutenant, apparently I'm on a high priority call to Arkham. Something about an inmate who's going to confess a series of cold cases back in the '90's."
"What?" She asked, "Metro this is hardly the time!"
"And you think Winston is going to be ok with me skating on this? The man already doesn't like me, he's looking for any excuse at this point to shitcan me!" That much was true, ever since Percy had set foot in the precinct, the lieutenant had been at his throat. Things had gotten even worse since Percy had been confronted by Wise, only solidifying in Percy's mind that the man was corrupt trash. Still, the man was Percy's direct superior, and wouldn't hesitate to see Percy either fired outright, or deported to another precinct writing up traffic citations for the rest of his life.
Percy sighed, "I got to go Monty," He said wearily, "Do me a favor, and be careful alright?"
"If Joker's involved, the Bat will be there, so I doubt I'll need it, but thanks Metro," She said, then hesitated, her expression shifting to one of concern,
"Percy, Arkham…it-it's a nightmare. The worst of the worst end up there, you're going to see some shit, and more than one person has been corrupted by that nightmare. You be careful too, alright?"
Percy was touched by the concern, and he smiled softly. Nodding at his partner, the pair diverted off towards their separate missions.
Getting into his car, Percy pulled up Dinah's number on his phone, and gave her a call but it went straight to voicemail.
"Hey Di, it's Percy," He said, as he put the car in drive and pulled away from the bar, "Monty and I got called into work, nothing to worry about but we have to cancel, sorry for the last-minute bail but you know how work gets." He paused, "And do me a favor, stay away from City Hall tonight, something's going down. Don't think I can tell you what, but…just stay safe ok? I'll talk to you later." He ended the call, and pulled onto the freeway, and made his way to the mad-house.
BREAK
Arkham Asylum was…enormous. Staring up at the ancient Asylum, Percy was beginning to understand why it had the reputation that it had. Gothic architecture met with modern security to give it the appearance of some kind of new-age castle. Percy could spy snipers posted in tall security towers surrounding the entrance to the Asylum.
The gates had been repaired and restored since the Joker's escape a few weeks ago, and security appeared to be tighter than ever. Percy had been stopped at the gate, and he and his entire car had been searched. He was then waved through the checkpoint, and directed to park in the overflow parking.
Getting out of the vehicle, Percy was immediately met with three additional members of the Asylum's security detail. Not bothering to comment on the seeming amount of excessive show of force, Percy was led into the heart of the Asylum.
Contrary to the rumor mill, Arkham was not a singular building, but rather five separate facilities. There was the Penitentiary, where Percy was headed. It housed some of the more…normal inmates. At least as far as Gotham could create a normal Arkham inmate. There was a state-of-the-art Medical Facility near the south. In the north, were the Botanical Gardens, supposedly created back in the sixties in the hopes that being surrounded by natural vegetation and plant-life would aid in their rehabilitation. South of the Gardens was the Mansion, home of the founder of the Asylum, Amadeus Arkham, and where the warden and administrative offices were. Finally, there was intensive treatment, where the worst of the worst were kept. The Joker, Scarecrow, the Riddler, all were kept in that madhouse they called a prison.
Percy was led through a pair of dimly-lit tunnels before coming out into the west end of the island. More large security towers connecting the various buildings and security houses littered the evening sky. Snipers, manned machine guns, and more added to the layers of security. Percy was beginning to feel as though he were back on an F.O.B. in the Middle East, and not in the middle of an American Penitentiary. Though he supposed, given the number of super-powered freaks there were in Gotham, it might have been necessary.
Percy was led by the security detail into the main entrance of the Penitentiary. The entrance hall was far from homey. They were stopped by another entourage of armed guards,
"Sorry sir, gonna need you to hand over any electronic devices, as well as your side-arm." The lead guard said,
"I have to go in there unarmed?" Percy asked in disbelief,
"Sorry detective," The guard shrugged, "I don't make the rules around here." Percy stopped himself from rolling his eyes, but complied. He handed over his department-issue side-arm and cellphone. Percy took a small comfort in knowing that he at least had his back up personal weapon still strapped to his hip, as well as the knife in his ankle holster. Not like Percy was expecting trouble, but he was a firm believer in always being prepared.
Dropping the weapon and phone into a bin in one of the guard's hands, Percy was directed through another set of doors, and into a waiting area. There was a receptionist at the front desk, and Percy was led over.
"Detective Percy Jackson," Percy said, flashing his credentials. "I was informed there was an inmate here, specifically requesting to see me. I believe his name was Gar al S'hul."
The receptionist inspected the badge, before typing something into her computer terminal. She frowned,
"I'm sorry detective," She said apologetically, "But I have nobody in our records by the name of Gar al S'hul. Are you sure you have the right name?"
"Positive," Percy said, "Got the order from Lieutenant Winston from Precinct One-Seven."
The receptionist furrowed her brow in thought, "Well we have no record of anyone by that name ever being incarcerated here."
"Are you sure you spelled it right?" Percy asked, and she just glared at him, "Sorry! Didn't mean to offend,"
Sighing, the woman tapped her chin, "Let me go check something, I'll be right back, The woman got up from her desk, and walked through a door behind the desk. Percy frowned, there was something going on, his instincts were screaming at him.
"Hey, did you get the call?" Percy heard one of the guards whisper,
"Yeah, just came through, Batman just dropped the Joker off in Intensive Care! I hear he just gave up, almost without a fight." Another said,
"Wish the Bat would just kill him already, twisted bastard has killed enough people," A third said. Percy frowned, as the feeling that something was wrong just grew in intensity, his stomach was curdling slightly, and his hair was standing on end. He needed to check something,
"Do you mind if I use the phone?" Percy asked and the guards all looked at one another, before the leader nodded,
"Just so you know, all calls are recorded," He said warningly and Percy just nodded, he wasn't planning on saying anything compromising. Reaching over, Percy grabbed the phone and punched in a number.
He just hoped that Montoya might have some answers.
"Montoya," She said,
"Hey Monty," Percy said,
"Oh, hey Metro, what's up, and what's up with the weird number?"
"They took my phone when I came into the Asylum," He explained, "Look, something…hinky is going on."
"Did you really just say the word hinky?"
"Fuck off, I'm serious,"
"Relax Metro. Now what's got you so worked up?"
"What's up, is that the guy I'm supposed to be interviewing, apparently doesn't exist!" Percy said hotly,
"What?" She asked,
"Yeah, there's no record of this guy anywhere in the system, the receptionist is checking on something right now but-" There was a sudden click as the line went dead. No dial tone, no noise. Utter silence. Less than a second later, all of the lights in the already dimly lit shut off simultaneously.
"Oh, that can't be good."
A moment later a siren blared loudly overhead, as emergency lights sprang to life and illuminated the halls in an eerie red glow.
Glancing over his shoulder, Percy looked at the two guards who were staring up at the lights. Mounting horror on each of their masked faces.
"Hey!" Percy called out, "The fuck is happening?"
However, they needn't have answered, because as soon as Percy had asked the question, a disembodied and automated voice called out through the speaker system.
"Containment break. Containment break. Inmates are loose in the asylum. Inmates are loose in the asylum."
Dread welled up in the pit of Percy's stomach.
It was a breakout.
BREAK
"I don't like this,"
Dinah turned and looked at the young superhero. Robin was watching as the officers put the remaining members of Joker's crew into a large transport vehicle. Batman had taken the Joker away from Arkham some time ago, leaving Dinah and the Baby Bats to clean up the mess. Batgirl had disappeared sometime after the fight, something about having to get home to watch over her sibling, leaving Dinah alone with Robin.
"What makes you say that?" Dinah asked, and Robin's face scrunched in thought,
"Joker never gives in this easily. We basically just broke down the door and he caved. Something isn't right here," Dinah frowned, that much was likely true. They had essentially just walked into City Hall and the Joker surrendered himself over to the Bat. Dinah hadn't had many dealings with the bastard herself, but she had read the files well enough to know that he always had some kind of plan or scheme. It was just a matter of deducing what it was.
"Well, whatever is going on, I'm sure Batman can handle it," She reassured, "Why don't you head back to the cave? I'm sure the others will want to hear all about what happened tonight,"
Robin looked at her then shrugged, "Yeah, why not. B's got this, and I have a chemistry test in the morning. I had some questions for KF anyways. See ya Canary." The kid said with a wave, and then he pulled out his grappling hook, and dashed off to who knew where. Sighing, Dinah caught sight of a familiar face. Detective Montoya was speaking to a pair of patrol officers, but oddly enough Dinah couldn't see hide or hair of Percy. Using her lenses facial recognition software, she scanned the crowd but still didn't see him.
Confused, Dinah approached Montoya, the detective saw her coming and dismissed the officers she was speaking to, and met Dinah halfway.
"Black Canary, good work tonight," Montoya congratulated,
"Thanks, but as usual, it was Batman who did most of the work on this one," Dinah said,
Montoya snorted, "Par of the course on that one,"
"Where's your partner?" Dinah asked, "Figured with the Joker, it would be all hands on deck."
"You'd be surprised," Montoya said bitterly, "Winston called, just after we got the alert about Joker. Percy was under direct orders to go to the Asylum and interview someone. Something about a bunch cold cases from years ago. He's up there right now." She paused as her phone began ringing, pulling the phone out, she looked at the number, a puzzled expression on her face,
"Who the hell…" She muttered and gave Canary a meaningful look, before pulling the phone up to her ear
"Montoya," She said into the receiver, "Oh hey Metro, what's up, and what's up with the weird number?"
Dinah was sorely tempted to listen in on the conversation, but after the last several weeks of spending so much time around both Percy and Renee, she couldn't bring herself to intrude anymore than she already had into his life.
Montoya laughed at something Percy said on the other end of the line.
"Did you really just say the word hinky? Relax Metro. Now what's got you so worked up?"
Suddenly, Montoya's posture and demeanor shifted. Her back straightened, and the lines along her face grew firm.
"What?" She asked, her voice tense, and Dinah more fully turned to watch the detective. She was silent for some time, before something must have happened on the other end of the line, because a worried and confused expression flashed across her face.
"Metro…Metro you there? C'mon Percy this isn't funny," She pulled the phone away and glanced at the screen, and even from where Dinah was standing, she could see that the screen was black. Off in the distance, Dinah caught a glimpse of a uniformed officer leaning in to listen to something come across on the radio.
"Oh I don't like that," Montoya muttered,
"What happened?" Dinah asked, unable to help herself, "Montoya looked conflicted for a brief moment, before sighing,
"Whoever Metro was supposed to meet at the Asylum doesn't exist. He wasn't in any of the records, and they didn't even know that Metro was going to be coming to visit…" She bit her lip worryingly and glanced down at the phone, "And then the line just went dead…I got a very, very bad feeling about all of this."
So too did Dinah, but before either of them could say another word, a uniformed officer, ran over to Montoya and hurriedly whispered something into her ear.
"What?" Montoya exclaimed, her voice riddled with shock, as all of the color seemed to drain from her face simultaneously.
Before Dinah could ask what was going on, her communication device with the league squawked in her ear,
"Black Canary," Came the deep, monotone baritone of J'onn, "Emergency meeting on the Watchtower, all hands,"
That couldn't be good, she mused to herself, an all hands meeting usually meant something big. Calamitous in most cases.
"I'm on my way," She announced, and without another word to Montoya, who was too engrossed in her conversation with the officer, she took off. She was only a block away from the nearest Zeta tube, and she could feel the urgency in J'onn's call that stressed that she needed to get to the Watchtower as soon as humanly possible.
As she stepped into the small telephone booth, she couldn't help but feel as though whatever was going on, was going to be connected to Percy's strange call to Montoya.
Stepping out of the Zeta tube in the Leagues orbiting command center, she wasn't surprised to see that she was the last one to arrive. The majority of the League had ways of getting to the tower a hell of a lot quicker than running to the nearest tube. The mood in the command room was tense. Groups of heroes were gathered around one another in small groups, whispering in hushed voices. Nobody seemed to really know what was going on, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
Superman, who had been wrapped up in a rather hearty debate with Diana about something, glanced up at her arrival and nodded at her.
"Everyone, take your seats," He ordered, and the League followed suit. Superman wasn't as much of a disciplinarian as the Bat, but when he gave an order, it was followed.
"What's this about Clark?" The Flash asked, taking his seat at the table,
In response, Superman reached down to the table, and pressed a command into the console at his place. The large monitor at the head of the table came to life, showing Cat Grant, she had a hand pressed to her ear as a shocked look passed across her face.
"Hang on, I'm receiving breaking news from the Gotham Bay area, Jack Ryder, what do you have for us?"
There was a brief pause, before the camera cut to the familiar form of Jack Ryder, Cat Grant's fellow News Anchor in a helicopter high above the Gotham skyline.
"This is Jack Ryder with breaking news in the Gotham Bay. We're getting reports of an armed siege on Arkham Island. Two minutes ago, Joker broadcast to all news channels this chilling message."
Dinah's stomach clenched painfully, as fear threatened to grip at her insides. The feeling of apprehension and terror only served to be compounded when a painfully familiar voice spoke up through the television."
"Greetings Gotham, this is the voice of your new master…Oh hang on, I skipped a bit. Ahem, Joker here! I'm in control of Arkham Island and you can all consider it out of bounds. If I see any lawmen, vigilantes, or do-gooders in tights coming this way, I'll start detonating random bombs around the city. What'll it be? A kindergarten? A hospital? A billionaire's mansion? Oh! Choices, choices, choices."
A thoroughly a shaken Jack Ryder did his best to compose his features, but he couldn't quite mask the way his face drained of all color.
"All access to island has been restricted, airspace is closed off, and reports suggest that Batman himself is trapped on the island. We will be right here, reporting live, on any developments. Back to the studio."
Superman pressed another button on the console and the monitor flickered off.
"Batman is already on the island." he explained promptly, "And has given strict orders that we are not to interfere."
"So we're just going to sit here?" Hal Jordan, one of the two Green Lanterns on the team, called out, a disgruntled look on his face.
"Unfortunately," Superman nodded, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"We all know how Batman gets about Gotham, and especially about the Joker. We'll be staying here on standby. Should it come to it, we have been authorized to act in a supporting capacity."
"What about evacuation?" Hawkwoman asked, "There are several hundred employees, officers, and civilians that are employed on the island. We're just supposed to let them suffer while the inmates rampage the compound."
Superman grimaced, Dinah was guessing that he'd already raised a similar point to Batman.
"I had similar concerns," he admitted, "But we received word that the Joker has planted several bombs around Gotham city. Should he see one of us enter the Asylum he promised that he'd begin detonating the bombs at random."
"Damn." Aquaman hissed, and Dinah was sharing his sentiments. "I presume that he has made contingencies for any attempts by us to try and dismantle the weapons as well?"
"Batman certainly assumes so." Superman nodded, "He told me to keep the League on standby just in case, but that we are not to interfere in any capacity."
"Dinah," Diana suddenly called out, startling Dinah somewhat as she jumped in her seat. "Are you quite alright? You appear quite pale?"
All eyes in the room turned to look at her, and Dinah felt her face flush somewhat in embarrassment. She bit her lip and considered her options, but she didn't see any way around telling Diana as well as the rest of the League. With what they knew about Percy, he was an absolute wildcard, and there was no telling what the Joker might do if he found out that someone with Percy's abilities were floating around the Asylum. Furthermore, Diana was Percy's cousin, and Dinah felt that the woman deserved to know the situation her cousin was finding himself in.
And that was nothing to say about how much of a relief it would provide to her if the League was aware of his presence and would be able to keep an eye on him should anything happen to him.
"It's about your cousin." She said slowly, forcing herself to meet Diana's eyes, which narrowed in confusion.
"Percy," She clarified, and nodded at the screen.
"He's there. He's on the island."
Life just got a touch more complicated.
AN: We're back! Haven't seen anyone try and do this in the PJO fandom, and this is an idea I've had for months. That's right…Arkham Asylum. The longest night of the Dark Knight's career…and our boy is going to be in the middle of the damn thing. I got some fun things lined up for you. Some things that are really, really going to shake things up in the world. It's gonna be a hell of a lot of fun, and I can't wait for you to see what we got going on here. So let me know how you liked the chapter, what you think is gonna happen, and what you're looking forward to! As always shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week.
All My Love and see you next week,
LilDB
